RSS distances itself from BJP

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 10. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) today made it as clear as possible that its cadre will be under no compulsion (majboori) to work for Bharatiya Janata Party candidates in the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections or for that matter in any future elections. Individual BJP candidates may be able to personally persuade some RSS cadre to work for them, but certainly there would be no RSS directive to work for the BJP or even vote for it.

No disciplinary action would be taken against any RSS cadre for not working for the BJP, the RSS made it clear today while distancing itself from the policies and programmes of BJP-led Governments at the Centre and the States.

Interacting informally with correspondents, the RSS spokesperson, Mr. M.G. Vaidya, made it clear that the National Democratic Alliance Government led by Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee could by no stretch of imagination be considered an RSS Government. Nor would the RSS like to think of any future single party BJP Government as an RSS Government even if it was led by RSS swayamsevaks for the ``BJP has both RSS and non-RSS men and women in it.''

These views were expressed by the RSS a day after an ``interview'' given by the Prime Minister expressing unhappiness about criticism of his Government's policies by the Sangh Parivar.

On Ayodhya, Kashmir, `swadeshi' and cow protection, the RSS has specific views on which its stand was ``transparent'' and it would ``continue to explain its stand unequivocally and without ambiguity irrespective of the effect of such explanations on any Government. It will also put forth its stand on all important issues,'' Mr. Vaidya indicated, without being inhibited by the ``constraints and compulsions of coalition politics.''

Mr. Vaidya made it more than clear that if the RSS views on any of these subjects did not suit the Vajpayee Government or embarrassed it in any way, the RSS could not care less. It had been expressing its views all these years and would continue to do so. It had ``nothing to do with the policies of the NDA Government.'' It had already adopted a resolution supporting the Vishwa Hindu Parishad stand on the Ram temple construction.

If the BJP was raising or not raising some issues with an eye on the elections, it was for the BJP to answer those questions. The RSS would raise issues which were on its own agenda and it had never fought any election nor would it in the future.

While distancing itself from the Vajpayee Government and from the BJP, Mr. Vaidya could not quite explain why the RSS has an office-bearer, Mr. Madan Das Devi, who has been given the task of overseeing the BJP as a sort of prabhari. And to questions related to the expression of disappointment by the Prime Minister that those in the Sangh Parivar had been critical of his Government, Mr. Vaidya plainly said that the RSS would continue to articulate its views. It was for Mr. Vajpayee to answer why being a `swayamsevak' he did not think he was under the discipline of the RSS sarsanghchalak, Mr. K.S. Sudharshan.

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